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Spirituality, Sex and
Sexwork
By
David Schneider
This article is going to develop several
of my ideas on sexwork, spirituality and moralism within our society at
the present moment. Now I'll warn you right here that I'm going to be
critical of many "Christians". So before you read this, get
upset, and want to come around to my house with pitchforks and blazing
torches, please don't read any further if your religious beliefs prohibit
you from having an open mind.
We live in a world where lots of people
are trying to tell us what our spirituality must be. And how we must be
"pure" in our spirituality. Oddly enough sex and sexuality seem,
if many religious type folks are to be believed, mutually opposed to one
another. This seems a little unusual because of the, to me, clear link
between sexuality and spirituality.
Recently I attended the wedding of a
"Christian" friend of mine. It was very religiously orientated,
and I'm afraid, a tad too patriarchal in nature for me to stomach
comfortably. Be that as it may, the woman who was being married was a very
spiritual person, within the meaning of The Act and her denomination. Her
father is a Padre, and she and her siblings have had a very religious
upbringing. As a consequence sex before marriage was right out. One of her
sisters once stated in my presence that she would not go to the Mars Bar
(a Gay & Lesbian nightclub in Adelaide) because she wanted to do
nothing to support their perverse lifestyle. Topics such as sexwork issues
were treated with high levels of discomfort and generally ignored.
"Judge not less thee be
judged"? Or should we perhaps trot out another tired old cliché and
say "that God loves you, but He hates what you're doing". Or in
other words, bollocks! These alleged spiritual folks preach tolerance and
understanding, and have lots of nice tidy catch phrases, which are
produced with monotonous regularity. However when it comes time to ante
up, we find small mindedness alive and well and attempting to reconstitute
our world in their own particular narrow vision. To be fair there are many
religious persons who do act in good conscience and attempt to comprehend
issues from the viewpoint of others, yet I fear that they are in a
minority, at least as far as my own humble experience is concerned.
Why should sex and sexuality be regarded
with such taboo and trepidation? Surely sex can be regarded as having a
perfectly natural role within our lives. It is normal for persons who
experience high levels of attraction to one another to want to enter into
a sexual relationship.
Some sexual relationships are lengthy,
and others are rather more limited in nature. It is also quite natural for
people to become horny. To desire sexual relations even though they do not
currently have a partner. Yet why should sexual relations between two
consenting adults cause a third party to want to tell these others how
they may behave, even when this third party is not present? Then there's
the matter of the sex industry. Many persons claiming to be the proud
owners of a nice shiny Christian spirituality are dead set against this
sort of thing, and are not backward in coming forward in efforts to
repress it.
Perhaps it's time to get into a few
definitions in relation to exactly what sexwork and the sex industry is.
In broad terms the sex industry is anything that has sexual connotations,
which involves the exchange of money or other goods in exchange for
services or products that are sexually related. As such magazines
depicting nude, semi-nude or explicit photographs are a part of the sex
industry. Pornographic videos, or varying explicit content, are part of
the sex industry. The production and selling of sex toys, vibrators and
lingerie are a part of the sex industry. And of course the provision of
more personal sexually related services comprises a part of the sex
industry. Some parts of the sex industry are legal, depending on various
state and federal laws. And other parts are not. As can be seen, the use
of the term "the sex industry" is deceptive, it is a convenient
label for what is a large and complex industry involving a not
inconsiderable number of people.
The use of the term sexwork itself is
also a somewhat misleading term that covers a wide variety of activities
within the industry. Doing nude photos can be a part of sexwork (though
the lines between this and artistic nudity get blurred from time to time).
Doing explicit photos or videos is sexwork. Working in a topless or nude
bar is sexwork. Working in a massage parlour that gives
"discreet hand relief" is sexwork. Working as a receptionist in
a brothel is sexwork. Being a stripper is sexwork. Working in a
peep-a-view and using a vibrator is sexwork. Performing various sexual
acts is sexwork. Selling sex toys and pornographic materials is sexwork.
Unfortunately the use of the term sexwork fails to differentiate between
these different activities and leads to generalizations and
misunderstandings.
Now I can certainly see how people can
get a bit upset about some of the more gaudy aspects of the sex industry.
However I would suggest that the issue here is more about good taste and
those involved in the industry trying to be a little more professional,
rather than with sex itself. Perhaps attempting to make their erotica a
little more in line with reality is an option, though let's face it, a big
part of the sex industry is involved in escapism, and so a fair amount of
artistic license can probably be granted here.
The problems with our sex industry that
have arisen are where people who have their own specific definition of
spirituality have attempted to legislate their beliefs into law. For how
long was homosexually illegal because of the beliefs of a moralistic
minority. Those who wished to restrict the behaviour of others in order to
make themselves feel better about their own beliefs, morals and
spirituality? We now have a situation where laws exist in this state to
make sexwork, specifically prostitution, an illegal activity. In spite of
attempts to reform the law in relation to this, many people block
reformist efforts, because their interpretation of their spiritual beliefs
finds this uncomfortable and difficult to deal with.
As a consequence we find ourselves in a
situation where persons who provide sexual services are criminalized, with
the attendant development of criminal records for involvement in such
activities. Our clogged courts get unnecessary extra work handling these
cases. The police have to divert resources from serious policing issues in
order to act as a sop to the egos of people whose own spiritual beliefs
can't handle such an uncomfortable reality. The tragic thing here is that
the efforts of police to repress sexwork result in them targeting
brothels, because that is easier to get a conviction for. This results in
sexworkers being frequently diverted into so-called escort work. A form of
prostitution that has many more risks attached to it than working within a
brothel. Consequently one form of sexwork that is safer for the workers is
prosecuted, whilst another less safe form is allowed to flourish. The
hypocrisy of this situation is self-evident.
Our spirituality is supposed to be about
our relationship with God, or nature or whatever it is that we believe in.
Instead far too many people seem to be attempting to pervert it into
something that we use in order to tell other people how they are permitted
to conduct their lives. This is a very dangerous attitude. For many people
I can understand how sexwork can be an uncomfortable issue. In spite of
opportunity I have chosen not to pay someone to have sex with myself. This
is not because I believe that sexwork is wrong, but rather because having
sex with someone only because I am paying them to holds no charm for me.
My spiritual beliefs insist that anyone that I have sex with should do so
because they want to. My beliefs also tell me that I have no business
telling someone else what they can and cannot do with their own body. As
far as I am concerned, persecuting someone merely for being a sexworker is
wrong.
I agree that there should be laws to
protect people from being forced into sexwork against their will. I agree
that there should be laws to protect children and animals from
exploitation in sexual ways. But I do not now, nor will I ever, accept
that we have the right to dictate how people may use their own bodies.
__________________________
Copyright - David
Schneider
Reprinted with permission
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